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THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE TSIMSHIAN INDIANS- 
Bv G. A. DoRSEY. 

(Reproduced from The American Antiquarian, October, 1897.) 

The Tsimshian Indians form one of the most important 
stocks ofthe Northwest. They live in villages on the Nass 
and Skeena rivers and adjacent islands, and have as neighbors 
on the north the Tlingits, on the east the Dennes, and on the 
south the Bella Coolas and Kwakiutls. Their origin and early 
movements are still a niatter of speculation. Their language 
separates them from the neighboring stocks, but in religion, 
folk-lore and culture they have much in common wich the 
Tlingits, Haidas of the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the 
Kwakiutls. Their physical Relationship with these stocks has 
not been determined, although some anthropometric data has 
been collected by Dr. Franz Boaz and by myself. 

Owing to three chief reasons the life of the Tsimshians, as 
well as that of other Northwest Indians, has within the last 
fifty years undergone marked change. These reasons are: 
(i) The founding and rise of the city of Victoria, on Van- 
couver Island; (2) the establishment of Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's Posts and missionary stations, and (3) the establish- 
ment of numerous salmon canneries on the inlets and rivers. 
The changes brought about by these causes may also be 
considered under three heads. First may be mentioned the 
change of physical status due to mixture with the whites and 
with other Indians; secondly, the change in culture due to 
white contact and especially due to the influence of mission- 
aries, and, finally, the change in habitation due to the estab- 
lishment of Hudson's Bay Company's posts, missionary sta- 
tions and canneries. It is only with the last change, that of 
habitation, that we are here concerned. 

While on the coast of British Columbia this summer, in the 
interests of the Field Columbian Museum, I gathered such 
information as I could relative to this point, and, while fully 
realizing the imperfection of the data collected, it seems to 
me to be of sufficient importance to be recorded. My infor- 
mation was obtained from various missionaries and traders, and 
from the reports of the department of Indian affairs. I am es- 
pecially indebted, and take this opportunity of -expressing my 
obligation to the Rev. Mr. Tomlinson of Meamskinisht, a 
miss'ionary who began his career of usefulness with Duncan at 
Metlakahtla and who is acquainted with the Tsimshian dialects, 
and has resided in many ofthe Tsimshian villages on both the 
Nass and Skeena rivers. 



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2 THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE TSIMSHIAN INDIANS. 

Boaz* has divided the Tsimshian stock into dialects, those 
speaking the Nasqa and those speaking the Tsimshian proper, 
Of those speaking Nasqa he enumerates two tribes; of the 
Tsimshians proper he enumerates six tribes. He does not 
specify, however, whether this enumeration refers to former 
times or today; at any rate I am unable to reconcile his list of 
tribes to present conditions. It is to be noted furthermore that 
the tribes speaking Nasqa are not confined to the territory of 
the Nass river, but are also found on the Skeena river. As to 
the distinguishing characteristics of the two dialects I had no 
time for investigation. But from various sources I learned that 
those tribes which spoke the Tsimshian dialect proper could 
not understand the Nasqa dialect, whereas the Nasqa tribes 
could understand those who spoke Tsimshian proper. It ap- 
pears yet further that there are two closely related groups of 
the Nasqa dialect, the Nasqa and the Kitksa'n, the former 
group being confined to the Nass river, the latter to the Skeena 
river. 

Instead of taking up the tribes or villages according to a 
linguistic basis I have preferred rather to follow the natural di- 
visions and to take up first the Skeena river villages, and then the 
Nass river villages and finally the coast and island villages. It 
will be seen from a reference to the map that the villages are 
numbered from i to i8 and from A to H. The numbers refer 
to ancient or modern villages, which were founded without ref- 
erence to white influence. The letters refer to villages founded 
within recent years through recent white influence. The capi- 
tal letters N, K and T on the map are for the purpose of dis- 
tinguishing the Nasqa and Kiksan tribes from those speaking 
Tsimshian proper. These numbers and letters are retained in 
the text. In the spelling of the proper names I have followed 
as a rule that given by the missionaries of the various towns or 
by the traders; in some cases I have inserted in brackets the 
spelling given by Boaz (B) or that given in the report of the 
Indian Commj'ssion (R). 

One of the origin myths of the Tsimshians reports that after 
the flood their ancestors drifted about for a long time in a canoe 
and finally landed at Dum-lak am (what will be a good place). 
Here they rested and this was their earthly primeval home. 
From here they began to extend outward in various directions 
and so was built up the Tsimshian people. Dum-lak-am, so far 
as can be determined, was the region about the modern town 
of Hazelton, one hundred and sixty miles up the Skeena river, 
and at this point we may properly begin our review of the 
Tsimshian villages. 



* Frauz Boaz: Fifth Report on the Northwestern Tribes of the 
Dominion of Canada, B. A. A. S. 189. Page 8. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE TSIMSHIAN INDIANS. 3 

SKEENA RIVER VILLAGES. 

1. N. K. Kit-an-maiksh [Git-an-max R.] place for putting 
out net. Until 1879 '^^'^ village was located on a flat just above 
the junction of the Skeena and Bulkley rivers. Shortly before 
that time the inhabitants had begun to build a little further up 
on a low bluff overlooking the Skeena where the present town 
of Hazelton now stands. The old village was destroyed by fire 
about 1876. The population of Hazelton, or "The Forks," as 
the town is commonly called, in 1881 numbered about 200; at 
present it numbers about 250. Many families have removed 
thither from Kishpiyeoux and from villages down the river. The 
town recently has become of considerable importance, as it is at 
the head of steamboat navigation on the Skeena. It contains a 
very important Hudson's Bay Post and is the distributing point 
for miners' supplies for the interior, especially for the Omenica 
country, which has for some time been the scene of much min- 
ing activitv. 

2. N. K. Kish-pi yeoux [Kits-pioux, Kits-piouse, R.] place 
of ancestor Pi-yeoux. This village, at the junction of the 
Kishpiyeoux and Skeena rivers, was in 1873 the most populous 
on the upper Skeena. At that time it numbered about 400 peo- 
pie; now it contains 225. Batvveen 1881 and 1895 the popu- 
lation decreased about thirty-three per cent, much of this being 
due to successive epidemics of measles. 

3. N. K. Kish-ga-gass [Kits-ge-gaas, Kits-ge-goos, R.J 
place of ancestor Ga gass— on the Babine river, nine miles 
from its mouth. This village twenty years ago had over 300 
inhabitants, but many have removed to Hazelton and many 
perished in the mines of Caribo and Omenica. Kish-ga gass 
now numbers about 275, and is probably the most primitive of 
all Tsimshian villages. 

4. N. K. Kaul-daw [Gal-doe, R.] dwellers beyond. Ihis 
village is doomed to utter extinction; numbering about 150 
people in 1875, there are at the present time only about thirty 
who claim Kaul-daw as their home, and even many of these re- 
main there onlv one or two months of the year. Many of the 
former inhabitants have removed to Kish pi-yeoux. Within 
five years the village will be complet'^ly abandoned. 

5. N. K. Kitze-gukla people of Zegukla mountain. This is 
the first of the Skeena river villages as we go toward the 
coast from Hazelton. In 1873 its population was about 250, 
but it is now about eightv. In 1875 many of the houses were 
burned from a conflagration which started on the opposite .side ot 
the river caused bv the carelessness of two miners. Much 
trouble and ill feeling grew out of this, and the Indians at- 
tempted to close the river to navigation. The difficulty was not 
settled until a man-of-war appeared at the mouth of the Skeena. 



4: THE GEOGRAPHY OP THE TSIMSHIAN INDIANS. 

6. N. K. Kit-win-gach [Kit-wang-agh, R.] — people of place 
of plenty rabbits. This village numbered about 250 in 1876, 
200 in i88i,andat present about 150. Many deserted their 
homes during the gold craze on the Stickene river, and suf- 
fered as the Indians usually do in contact with the whites 
under such circumstances. Many men died, and the women 
and girls were abandoned. Some of these women even took 
their daughters with them for the purpose of selling them to 
the whites. 

7. N. K. Kit-win-skole [Kit-wan-cool, R.] — people where 
pass the narrows. This formerly extensive village, which num- 
bered over 350 in 1875, has been nearly abandoned and now 
contains less than eighty people. Most of them have gone up 
to live at Hazelton, but many others left for the mines, while 
others still found ruin and death in Victoria. 

8. T. Kit zilas [Gyits-ala ser, B.; Kit-sa-las, R.] — people of the 
canon. Of this village, which numbered over 300 in 1875, but 
a single family remains. The head of this family is one of the 
crew of the S. S. "Caledonia," which runs on the Skeena. He 
lives in a neat modern cottage. All the other houses are in 
ruins and overgrown with vegetation. 

9. T. Kit zim-gay-lum [Kit-sum-kalem, R.; Gyitsumralon, 
^ B.] — people of Zim gay-lum river. Another almost deserted 

village; its population of 150 in 1885 has been scattered until at 
present not more than sixty remain. Many have gone to New 
Metlakahtla, others have settled in Port Essington, while still 
others have joined the Kitksians. 

NASS RIVER VILLAGES, 

10. N. Kit aix — ? In 1870 Kit-aix, near the mouth of the 
Nass river, was a populous village numbering over 350. At 
present it numbers about seventy-five. Many have joined the 
mission villages of Kincolith and a few have taken up their 
residence in Lak-kul-zap. 

11. N. Lak-ungida (Haida name?) — This was one of the 
iBost populous villages in 1870 and numbered over 400 ; now 
there are not more than fifty remaining. Many died in Vic- 
toria, others have gone to the mission village Kincolith and a 
few went to Lak-kul-sap. 

12. N. Kit-lak-aous — people on the sandy point. The re- 
maining inhabitants of this village, which numbered 150 in 
1890, deserted the place entirely in 1895. Where they went I 
was not able to learn. 

13. N. Kis-themu-welgit — ? This was never a large village 
and numbered but eighty in 1875, and now numbers about fifty. 
The chiefs removed to Victoria and a few have settled in the 
Nass river mission villages. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE TSIMSHIAN INDIANS. 5 

14. N. Kit-win-shilk [Kit-win-tshilth, R.] — people of the 
place of the lizards. This village now numbers less than one- 
half of its 1870 population, which was 200. The deaths have 
exceeded the births and many of the women, who were noted 
for their fair complexion, fine form and beauty, were lost in Vic- 
toria. 

15. N. Kit-lak-damix [Kit-lach-damax, R.] — people on pool 
or pond. This village numbered 350 in 1872, has at present 
only about 150 inhabitants. It is hard to account for this de- 
crease for there has been no special epidemic, nor have there 
been any decided migrations to other villages. On the other 
hand this village is known to have received acquisitions from 
Kit-win-skole. 

3. COAST OR ISLAND VILLAGES. 

16. T. Kit-kahta [Kit-kaa-ta, R. Gyitga-ata, B] — people of 
the poles. This was formerly a large village, numbering be- 
tween 300 and 400 in 1870. Many have gone to Alaska, some 
to join Duncan's colony at New Metlakahtla, and the popula- 
tion has decreased considerably. It now numbers about eighty. 

17. T. Kit-khatla [Kit-katla, R ; Gyit-qa'tla, B] — people of 
the sea. This village new numbers about 200, and is the most 
primitive and least often visited of the coast villages. 

18. T Kit-tizoo [Gyid-esdzo, B.] — ? This village, at the north- 
west of Milbank Sound, is the most southerly of all Tsimshian 
villages. It is now almost deserted, part of its population hav- 
ing gone to Alaska ; others have settled at Bella Bella. 

MODERN VILLAGES AND MISSIONARY STATIONS. 

A. Meamskinisht — foot of porcupine grove. Founded in 
1889 by Mr. Tomlinson as a mission village. At the outset it 
numbered but five people, now its population is about fifty — 
drawn from the Kitk'sans. 

B. New Kitzilas. This is not a mission village, but was 
settled by the people of Kitzilas in 1893. Its population at 
present is about forty. 

C. Port Essington. This town is second in importance 
only to Port Simpson. Although it was the seat of a Hudson's 
Bay Post in 1835. it had its real beginning in 1872, when the 
gold excitement began in the Omenica country and the whites 
began to go into the interior, by the Skeena river. In 1874 a 
Church of England mission was started, and then the Indians be- 
gan to settle there from various places on the Skeena but chiefly 
from the villages of Kitzilas and Kitze gukla. It now num- 
bers about 200 inhabitants, has two churches, two salvation 
armies, a cannery and a saw mill. It is also the starting point 
for the Skeena river steamer, and is destined some day to be a 
place of considerable importance. 



6 THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE TSIMSHIAN INDIANS. 

D. Matlakhatla. The story of this mission village is the 
romance of the Northwest coast, and it has been told over and 
over again. Its history is a chapter in the life of a man who 
ranks among the first of America's missionaries and teachers. 
Duncan went out to Port Simpson in 1857 and removed to 
Matlakahtla m 1862. With him went a few of the Simpson 
Tsimshians. Within six months the whole body moved over 
with their chief, Kit-laan. Of the rise and fall of this new 
world Utopia we are not here concerned. Duncan left and 
founded a new and brighter Utopia on one of the islands of 
southern Alaska, and Metlakahtla today is a ruinious monu- 
ment to the folly of a Bishop of England. Its population in 
1896 was 150. 

E. Port Simpson. The early history of Port Simpson or 
Simpson as it is called on the coast, is the history of a Hud- 
son's Bay Company's Port. This post was first established in 
183 1 on the Nass river at a point about two miles above the 
present mission village of Kincolith. It only remained there 
two years but during that time seven of the traders died or 
met their death at the hands of the Indians. Then the Post 
was removed to Port Simpson. At that time there were no 
Indians nearer than the peninsula of Metlakahtla. In that pas- 
•sage at that time there were nine villages of Tsimshians who 
still retained their summer homes on the Skeena river. Of 
these nine villages I learned the names of six. The first was 
Kishpokalants; its chief was Legaik and he was the head chief 
of the entire Tsimshian nation. The other five villages were: 
Kit-lam, Kinagingeeg, Kil-utsai, Kitadah, Kitzeesh. The 
combined population of the nine villages was about 5,000. 
They have long since disappeared; many removed to Simpson, 
but the majority were scattered among other villages, slain in 
inter-racial wars, lost in the gold fields of the interior, or per- 
ished in Victoria. Simpson at present is the metropolis of the 
coast, dull and stupid in summer but awake and lively enough 
in winter. It boasts of a hotel, fire department, hospital and 
two rival churches and salvation armies. Its population is over 
700. A half dozen totem poles mark the sites of the old 
houses of the early days. 

F. Kin-eolith — place of scalp. This mission village was 
founded in 1867 by Mr. Tomlinson. Its inhabitants were drawn 
from the Nass river villages, chiefly from Gwin-wah. It now 
numbers about 200. 

G. Lak-kul-zap [Kach-als-ap, R] P'ounded in 1872 by 
Mr. Green, from Tsimshians drawn from the villages of Kit- 
aix and Kitkahta; now numbers about eighty. 

H. Aiyaush — eternal bloom. Founded in 1871 by Mr. 
Tomlinson. Its inhabitants were drawn chiefly from Kit-lak- 
damix. It now numbers 100. 



BO 14,8 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE TSIMSHIAN INDIANS. V 

Of the ancient villages the followincr have Church of Eng- 
land missions: Kit-an-maiksh, Kish-ge-gass, Kit-wan-gach, 
and Kit-khatla. The following have Methodist missions: 
Kish-piyeoux, and Kitze-gukla. Of the niission villages the 
following are Methodists: New Kitzelas and Lak-kul-zap, Met- 
lakhatla, Kin-col-ith, and Aiyaush are Episcopalian; while Port 
Essington and Port Simpson have both Episcopal and Method- 
ist missions. The mission of Meamskinisht, in charge of Mr. 
Tomlinson, is on an independent basis. 

Although the Tsimshians today are but a remnant of the 
stock as it existed in 1850, they now seem to be holding their 
own in point of population, while some 0} the other coast stocks 
are diminishing very rapidly, the Haidas especially. Their es- 
timated population in 1888 was 5.000. but this estimate is prob- 
ably in excess by one or two thousand, as the report 
of the Canadian Indian commissioner for 1895 gives for 
twenty villages not quite 3;200 population. Today they are 
nearly all Christianized, live in frame cottages, wear European 
clothing and during the summer months work in the salmon 
canneries. But while the Tsimshians may outlive the Haidas 
as a separate stock, their ultimate absorption and final extinc- 
tion are but matters of time. The new villages and especially 
the canneries are bringing the different stocks of the coast into 
more and more intimate relations and this results in a disap. 
pearance of the pure types. The introduction of another ethnic 
element, the Chinese, on the coast may further complicate mat- 
ters for while as yet there is no commingling of the Indian with 
the Chinese, it will probably come sooner or later as it has on 
the west coast of South America. The fate of the Tsimshian.as 
with his brother elsewhere on this continent, is to disappear — to 
disappear as Tsimshian, as Indian. 
















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